Why it's admired:
Warren Buffett is one of the nation's most revered CEOs. In addition to building a conglomerate with 250,000 employees and nearly $50 billion in cash holdings, the Oracle of Omaha has
pledged to give half his massive wealth to charity (and has goaded others to do the same). His company is equally admired, if less quirky. Its holdings range from ice cream to insurance
to condiments. It bought H.J. Heinz earlier this year, in a deal that was one of the largest in the company's history and a sure sign that Berkshire has no plans to scale back, even as
Buffett approaches his 83rd birthday. âÄîAV

The Most Admired list is the definitive report card on corporate reputations. Our survey partners at Hay Group started with approximately 1,400 companies: the Fortune
1,000âÄîthe 1,000 largest U.S. companies ranked by revenueâÄîand non-U.S. companies in Fortune's global 500 database with revenue of $10 billion or
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